MANCHESTER, N.H. —

On Wednesday, both the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics held end-of-season press conferences to discuss the future of their franchises.

After finishing in last place the previous season, the Bruins exceeded expectations this year by scoring 100 points and earning the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The team’s postseason run ended with a Game 6 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in the first round.

Heading into next season, the Bruins said they want to improve their scoring depth and team speed.

Bruins President Cam Neely said the organization wants to become more than just a playoff team.

“We got bounced in the first round. So yeah, we need more talent, we need more speed. That’s something that we have to try to acquire in one way, shape or form,” Neely said. “But you look at the elite teams in the league; we’re not there. And like I said two years ago, when you strip it down like we did, you’re not going to be there in one season, so it’s going to take some time.”

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Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney said the team plans to continue building on this season’s progress.

“We have to have everything in play in terms of how we continue to improve our club and we have that mindset,” Sweeney said. “We didn’t sit back last year and say this is a five-year process. We just said we need to attack these areas, we need to be a competitive team, and that’ll allow some of our players to grow.”

While the Celtics exceeded expectations during the regular season, the team fell short in the playoffs.

Boston was eliminated in the first round after losing Game 7 to the Philadelphia 76ers, blowing a 3-1 series lead. It marked the first time in playoff history that the Celtics lost a series after leading 3-1.

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said he was frustrated with the way the season ended. The loss was Boston’s earliest playoff exit since 2021, when Stevens was still the team’s head coach.

“I’m pissed. I’d rather be playing New York tonight. We all would,” said Stevens. “I thought we really struggled to generate good looks against Philly. I thought they deserved to win.”